OHNO!

Back when I ran a catering service
and Liz had just started Great Performances, I relied on her servers. But only
last month at a college reunion we discovered that besides sharing a passion
for local, sustainable food, we are both Barnard grads.

Happily, that meant Barnard called
on Great Performances to serve us brilliant meals during the weekend. Laughing
at our old school tie, Liz talked about how fresh herbs sparked the dishes we
were enjoying and I raved about how they are crammed with healthy benefits as
well as flavor.

If you skip the parsley in the battuto for minestrone, its taste will
be less like the soups you enjoyed in Tuscany. And salsa without cilantro does
not do the same dance in your mouth. When writing The Power Greens Cookbook, I
discovered that like kale and other dark leafy greens, these two herbs are
super foods, too. They are so loaded with vitamins, minerals—A, K, potassium and
more, plus unique substances found only in parsley or cilantro, that now I make
recipes using them by the handful.

CILANTRO

Cilantro has a license to kill that
can protect you – a substance in it actually helps kill salmonella bacteria.
During summer cookouts, or any time, isn’t that a great reason to serve salsas
loaded with it. Cilantro also contains choline, which helps the brain function
better, so heaping it on tacos and tossing a big handful into green smoothies
makes serving them even smarter. It is delicious in tropical fruit smoothies,
as well.

If you have trouble telling cilantro and
parsley apart, you have lots of company. The only times I am certain is with delfino cilantro, a
feathery variety that resembles dill, and later in summer, blossoms with
delicate, pale pink flowers.

Besides salsas, this pungent Green Harissa makes slipping cilantro into a meal easier. It is great drizzled over
grilled savoy cabbage and any other grilled or roasted vegetables.

Savoy Cabbage Drizzled with Green Harissa

PARSLEY

In your garden or when you buy
parsley, stick to the flat-leaf kind sometimes called Italian parsley. And if
you see a variety called titan
parsley, grab it and savor its small, sweet leaves.

Flat-leaf parsley can have large,
leathery leaves or lighter, more tender ones. I like using the heavier leaves
in soups and stews and more tender ones in salads.

Only parsley contains luteolin, a
substance that helps to increase your blood’s oxygen capacity. Spinach Gazpacho with Walnuts is a good way to eat lots of it, along with basil and spinach. Plus
you whip it up with no cooking required. When the temperature soars, this
chilled soup is a sustaining light meal and an elegant starter at summer dinner
parties.

Spinach Gazpacho with Walnuts

My mother made a brew she called “parsley
tea.” The recipe came from a magazine article calling it Hollywood’s go-to
drink before walking the red carpet because parsley can act as a natural
diuretic. Using her tea as the base for frosty Parsley Ginger Lemonade, I
consider a plus-one benefit to the refreshing flavor of this elixir.